**** Micah Schraft’s “A Dog’s House” is a stunning examination of right and wrong and the moral ambiguity the audience, as judge, must confront. Chicago’s Ego Death Theatre Collective presents no easy choices and few answers at the heart of this challenging and bold drama.
“A Dog’s House” begins with a question to tell the truth or not after a couple’s pet Rottweiler, Jock, eats the neighbor’s toy poodle, Phoenix. It would be easy to bury the truth along with the remaining body parts, and no one, other than the Rottweiler’s owners, Michael (Jack Hradecky) and Eden (Kaitlyn Gorman), would know.
There is no easy guiding light to illuminate a path forward. A splintering wedge develops between this young couple as they create a dog house of their own doing. “A Dog’s House” forces these two lovers in an ongoing reality check to confront the limitations of their relationship. Whether we are talking about pets being taken for surrogate children or is simply a ruse used by Schraft to take this story to a darkly comic extreme – or both – we will not know.
Both Michael and Eden are wracked with guilt over the gruesome death. How they placate their frantic neighbors, who are in their own frayed relationship, is the quandary to be unknotted. And these are some gnarly knots to face. Once Phoenix’s distraught owners, Nicole (Hattie Hodes) and Bill (James Lewis), show up, the story begins. Under the skilled direction of Carol Kelleher, with the help of Tom Cook, there is rapid-fire, hard, honest dialogue and the momentum rarely slows. She squeezes out compelling, persuasive performances from these impressive young actors and some hilarious comic lines. And ultimately, there are those heart-breaking dramatic moments that will stick.
Throughout the 90-minute show with no intermission, the attack dog is artfully concealed and whose presence is only heard. We watch Michael duck his responsibility to own up to the situation as he defers to Eden to figure out what to say – or how to brazenly lie – to avoid confrontation. But confrontation on numerous levels is what this story is about. We immediately feel the tensions between Michael and Eden and learn they exist in their own parallel worlds. Jack Hradecky is masterful laying out his cards with all his hopes and dreams for a life with Eden. That sentiment was met with trepidation and resistance by a cool, independent-thinking Eden and a fine, authentic performance by Kaitlyn Gorman. I suspect an irresolvable wedge was formed along gender lines within the audience over whether a man has equal say – or any say at all for that matter – over certain decisions that are ultimately a woman’s right. Gorman and Hradecky match each other toe-to-toe in an explosive confrontation. Revenge eventually will be exacted, but it’s not clear whether it was deliberate.
The neighbors, Nicole and Bill, introduce a whole other list of issues. James Lewis is persuasive and effective with skilled timing as a hot-headed, hard-drinking, loud-talking guy. His sensitive wife copes through passive-aggressive behaviors directed back at Bill as she takes refuge inside her home making fruit salad and missing-dog posters for Phoenix. She is rudely mocked by her husband and lied to by the neighbors. And she has such terrible luck with her previous dogs, few pet adoption agencies would likely want her business, while her husband has declared a curse within. Much of Bill and Nicole’s dark relationship is revealed in a friendly and highly awkward neighborly get-together. As the women get close aided by lots of wine and a valium, while the men are MIA, the tension grows as to whether the truth will come out. Hattie Hodes shows us in a most convincing, beautifully intoxicated manner Nicole’s relaxed self in contrast to being Bill’s wife.
Michael’s powerful, brilliant and pivotal scene with Jock as the story reaches its near conclusion was clouded by his placement on the stage. Hradecky gets down on the floor on the edge of the stage and some of the finest acting of the night was obstructed, unless you were in the front row. In a capacity crowd, many understood (as evidenced in the sniffles heard) the bonds we form with our dogs and the ultimate circle of life we face. In the end, each and every character, including the two unseen animals, are all victims of circumstance. It all ends with a sickening thud.
The Ego Death Theatre Collective puts out bold, honest and thought-provoking shows. You will be challenged. You will be entertained. You will be upset. As I checked in with myself during the course of the show, I could not figure out where I would draw the line ethically and morally. That was disconcerting and unexpected. And you will be faced with raw honesty. As an emerging theatrical ensemble, our arts community is fortunate to have the Ego Death Theatre Collective among our rich dramatic offerings in this city. This is certainly worth seeing and supporting.
Ego Death Theatre Collective Presents:
“A Dog’s House”
Written by: Micah Schraft
Directed by: Carol Kelleher
Through June 14, 2026
Greenhouse Theatre Center
2257 N. Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL
Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays: 7:30 pm
Sundays: 2:30 pm
Tickets:
General Admission $33
(301) 704-5629
www.egodeaththeatrecollective.org
The Creative Team: Madison Bacino (Stage Manager), Nathan Stark (Scenic Designer), Amanda Hoople (Costume Design), Sam Bessler (Lighting Designer), Jason Pavlovich (Sound Designer) and Alex Kulak (Props Designer).
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “A Dog’s House”.
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